Ruth Burt Ekstrom

Ruth Burt Ekstrom,95, a former president of the Bennington Historical Society and a former trustee of the Bennington Museum, died on August 2, 2026, in Princeton, NJ. Ruth was born in Bennington in 1931, the daughter of Ralph Amos Burt and Bertha Paisley Lambert Burt. She graduated from Bennington High School in 1949. She received a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1953, a master's degree from Boston University in 1956, and a doctorate from Rutgers University in 1967. Ruth's professional career was spent at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, NJ where, at the time of her retirement in 1997, she was a Principal Research Scientist in the ETS Education Policy Research Division. She served as Executive Director of that division from 1992 to 1995. Her research at ETS centered on issues of educational and occupational attainment, especially for women and minorities. She was the author or editor of several books and monographs, numerous articles in professional journals, and a variety of counseling materials. Ruth was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, and the Association for Psychological Science. In 1996 she received the American Counseling Association's Research Career Award. From 1972 to 1988 Ruth Ekstrom was a member of the Corporation (governing board) of Brown University. She served as an officer of the Corporation from 1982 to 1988, the first woman to hold such a position. She received an honorary LLD from Brown in 1988. In retirement, Ruth enjoyed studying and writing about New England history. She wrote articles that were published in Vermont History and in the Walloomsac Review. She also wrote articles for Vermont Genealogy. Ruth was the widow of Lincoln Ekstrom, a research chemist and environmental consultant, who she married in 1957. He died in 2016. Survivors include cousins Jim Hayden of Sunderland VT, George Lambert of Belle Mead NJ, Barbara Burt Peterson of Fresno,CA, Cole Oliver Burt III of Palm Beach FL and Sue Young Borgese of Niskayuna NY. Internment will be in the Bennington Centre Cemetery in Old Bennington. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bennington Museum or to Saint Peter's Episcopal Church in Bennington, VT.